Ben-DutkaThere's a first time for everything. The Madden franchise may have been in existence for over 16 years, but in all that time, EA has apparently never found a player worthy of a perfect 100 speed rating. Nobody, from Bo Jackson to Deion Sanders to Dante Hall to Randy Moss, was able to nail it down (Sanders and Moss got 99s for speed), but now, someone finally has.
The honor goes to Chicago Bears kick returner Devin Hester, who adds another first to his list of accomplishments. A few months after being the first player in NFL history to return the opening kick-off in a Super Bowl for a touchdown, Hester was awarded the very first 100 speed rating in a Madden title.
"That's just about the best thing you could have told me," Hester told ESPN . "It's an honor. I don't know what to say, really."
Hester also broke the record for the number of kick-offs returned for touchdowns during the regular season – his rookie year, by the way – with six last season. So obviously, there's a darn good reason to pick the Bears when you bring home the latest Madden installment this year…but how about Hester's other stats? Well, they're hardly 100s.
"My defensive awareness was low–too low," Hester said, "and I definitely need to break more tackles. On a few of my returns last year I feel like I showed what I can do in that category."
That's what we like to see. Athletes using a video game to gauge their abilities and success in the previous year, and thereby using those numbers as a measuring stick for improving their game in the off-season. That's just awesome (and we're not being sarcastic, either).
Related Game(s): Madden NFL